As an enthusiastic home canner, I’m always up for a conversation on food preservation. But you may wonder why Farm Bureau, an organization known for its policy development process, held a meeting on home canning? As it turns out, people are really interested in learning how to preserve food. I mean, home canning is HOT! (Pun intended.) And members have expressed an interest in learning more about how to preserve the food they grow.

I enjoyed visiting with Linnette and sharing our conversation with attendees. For many participants, the event was their first interaction with Farm Bureau.

I’m excited that Farm Bureau wants to engage more members with topics that are important to them. That's why we’ve developed two new online communities around food where participants can find answers to their questions, talk with other enthusiasts and share ideas (including online meeting suggestions). You can check out these groups by visiting the Our Ohio Gardening Group and the Our Ohio Cooking Group to join in the conversation.

Test your food preservation IQ

During the event, participants were able to ask questions. Here’s a few of the most common:

How do I know if a recipe is safe?

I have a favorite spaghetti sauce recipe. How do I preserve it?

Which foods can be safely processed in a water bath canner? Which should be processed in a pressure canner?

Do you need to blanch foods before freezing?

How long can I safely store preserved foods?

Think you know the answers? Find out by watching the recording of our online meeting below!